June 5, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Track and Field Weekly Release in PDF Format
SDSU to Compete Against Nation's Best in Fayetteville
The San Diego State track and field team will travel to the South and Fayetteville, Ark., to compete against the top Division I athletes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which is set for June 10-13.
The Scarlet and Black will take Karoline Koehler and Nicole Stone, both of whom will compete as individuals, and Alicia King and Jessika Hornsby, who will join the aforementioned duo in the 4x100-meter relay. Briana Johnson will also make the trip as a relay alternate.
In addition to their relay obligations, Koehler will participate in the long jump, triple jump and 100-meter dash, while Stone will race in the 400 meters.
SDSU will open the national championships on Wednesday, June 10, at 5 p.m. CT/3 p.m. PT, with the semifinal round of the 4x100 relay. Also scheduled for that day is the first round of the 100 and 400 and the qualifying round of the long jump. The triple jump qualifying round is slated for Friday, June 12.
CBS College Sports will have coverage of the meet on Friday beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. On Saturday, June, 13, CBS Sports will pick up the coverage starting at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.
Nothing Trumps Experience
When it comes to being ready for the national stage, no Aztec should look further than junior Nicole Stone.
The co-team captain leads the team with three national outdoor appearances under her belt after qualifying for the 400 and 4x400 relay as a freshman in 2006, earning a spot in 2007 in the 400 as a sophomore and locking up bids this season in the 400 and 4x100.
Stone's upperclassman teammate, Karoline Koehler, also knows a thing or two about nationals after qualifying for the 2007 outdoor meet and the 2008-09 indoor championships. Besides Stone and Koehler, the lone Aztec to have national experience is 4x100 alternate Briana Johnson, who competed in the 100 hurdles last year as a freshman.
Koehler Comes in With Impressive Credentials
Karoline Koehler certainly needs to be tracked once the NCAA Championships commence. Not only will Koehler step foot on nearly every part of John McDonnell Field after competing in four different events, she will also be considered as one of the favorites in the long jump and triple jump and one to keep an eye on in the 100 meters.
So far this season, Koehler earned All-America honors in the indoor triple jump for the second straight year, won the 2009 Mountain West Conference indoor and outdoor long jump titles, won the `09 MWC outdoor triple jump crown, claimed the MWC High Point Award for outdoors, won the triple jump at the West Regionals, finished runner up in the long jump at regionals, set the outdoor school record in both horizontal jumping events and posted the school's second-fastest time in the 100 meters. With the meet being in Fayetteville, Koehler looks to duplicate her success from 2008 when she became an All-American in the indoor triple jump with her school-record effort at the Arkansas school.
Stone Ready to Make Noise
Nicole Stone hopes to make her presence felt at nationals in what will be her third appearance at the outdoor championships.
Stone, who comes into the meet with the nation's 14th-best 400-meter time (53.00), will look to advance past the opening round of heats for the first time of her career.
The same could be said for the relays as the 2009 MWC 400-meter champion is looking to help her quartet qualify for the second set of heats. Back in 2006, Stone and teammates Larnie Boyd, Sherraine Pencil and Brittani Dudley posted a 19th-place performance and did not advance past the preliminary round.
Relay Makes Elite Field
After running 44.74 at the NCAA West Regionals, the Aztec 4x100 relay team earned the last at-large berth to nationals. The SDSU quartet is one of 18 teams in the field and comes on the heels of a regional performance that saw the foursome post the third-fastest time in school history and the Aztecs' fastest mark since the 2003 campaign. In addition to Koehler and Stone, the relay will feature a pair of first-time national qualifiers in sophomores Jessika Hornsby and Alicia King.
Last Year at Nationals
A year ago, San Diego State took five athletes to Des Moines, Iowa, to compete in seven events and finished in a tie for 31st place with eight team points.
Leading the way for the Aztecs was sophomore pole vaulter Stephanie Bagan, who redshirted this season. Bagan and four other vaulters battled for the title with the MWC and NCAA West Regional champion finishing in second place based on attempts after clearing 13-09.25. As a result, Bagan earned All-America status after doing so earlier in the year during the indoor campaign.
San Diego State's final team finish was its best showing since the 2005 season when it earned nine points to finish in 29th place.